


Enharmonic

by AciidHeart



Category: Game Grumps, Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Background Relationships, Eventual Romance, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, meandering dialogue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-11-05 22:37:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17927681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AciidHeart/pseuds/AciidHeart
Summary: Enharmonic (adj): of, relating to, or being notes that are written differently but sound the same in the tempered scale.





	1. Chapter 1

Dan’s straightening out the stacks of papers he has on his desk when the students start trickling in.

The first day of a new school year. It’s something that Dan has become more familiar with over the past few years; it’s the same routine each time, maybe with some minor adjustments here and there depending on the size of his classes and the year that he’s teaching, but otherwise it’s not something that he has to spend too much energy preparing for.

The students that have started to take seats already are here early. They’re pretty quiet, which isn’t very surprising considering that it’s the first period of the day. Most of them look either exhausted or uncaring as they set their things down and pull their phones out, waiting for the bell to ring. In the meantime, Dan takes to writing his name and the class subject on the board underneath today’s date. Better to make sure everyone knows what class they’re walking into, so anyone who’s in the wrong class still has time to make sure they get to where they need to go before they’re late. Dan has to roll up his sleeves to make sure he doesn’t smudge the ink as he writes on the board- he’d hate to have a marker stain on his favorite jacket because he wasn’t paying attention.

When Dan turns back around, there are more students walking through the door, and some quiet chatter has started to rise up as friends take to sitting next to each other, making sure to avoid the front rows. He steals a smile to himself as the back of the classroom is completely filled, leaving only a sparse smattering of students already getting out planners and notebooks in the front. The voices die down again once the bell rings, and Dan claps his hands together as he sweeps his gaze across the class.

“Alright, guys, good morning! How exhausted is everyone today?” There isn’t much of a response aside from a few noncommittal groans, but he’s not phased. “Perfect! You’re as dead to the world as I expected. Before we start anything, I just want to make sure that nobody’s in the wrong class. We’re all here for Beginning Music Theory, right?” This time a few murmurs of agreement and absent nods. A sudden knock at the classroom door startles Dan before he has a chance to continue, and the students turn to see whoever’s about to come in.

“It’s open!” Dan calls out. The door swings open to allow for a tall and broad figure to step halfway into the classroom.

“Hey dude, just wanted to stop by and ask- oh shit, I didn’t know you had a first period.” A couple of students let out a small wave of surprise laughter, and Dan rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I can tell. What's up?” he replies.

“I wanted to invite you out for some Pad Thai during the lunch period, but if you’re too busy…”

“You couldn’t have just texted me?”

“I left my phone in class, dude. What am I supposed to do, text you with my mind?” That garners another bout of quiet laughter from the class, and Dan waves a dismissive hand toward the door with a chuckle.

“Then yes, I’ll go out to lunch with you. Can I please start talking to my class now?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Keep doing your teaching thing.” The door softly shuts again, and the class has their attention properly fixed on Dan now.

“Sorry about the interruption, guys. Thankfully I don’t have too much that we need to go over for the first day, so once we take a look at the syllabus and take roll then we can chill for the rest of the period.” Dan moves to pick up the syllabus copies on his desk when a voice floats across the classroom.

“Who was that?” One of the kids in the back has his hand raised, half slouched in his seat. “Is he your boyfriend or something?”

“Nah, that was Mr. Hanson, one of the art teachers here. Just a good friend of mine. He’s married anyways, so I would hate to be a homewrecker,” is Dan’s easy reply as he begins picking out bunches of paper to pass down to each row.

This isn’t Dan’s first rodeo- he’s taught at this particular high school for a few years now, and he knows a smartass when he sees one. They usually don’t tend to cause too much trouble, though, so it’s easy to ignore their remarks without disrupting his teaching. Once the papers are all passed out, Dan returns to the front of the class and leans against his desk.

“Now that I’m pretty sure I can talk again without being interrupted, welcome to Beginning Music Theory. I’m Mr. Avidan, and my goal here is to help you learn basic concepts in music theory so you can dip your toes in the water. The syllabus doesn’t really have too much on it- just basic class rules like no phones, supplies you’ll need like a notebook and a tab for the class in your binder, and the way I’ll be grading your stuff, so you don’t have to get this signed and turned back in.”

It doesn’t take too long for Dan to get through the rest of his First Day speech and call roll before the morning announcements prattle on about back to school events for a few minutes, so the class is left to their own devices for the rest of the period. Dan idles back to his desk and pulls his laptop out, thankful for the relatively quiet chatter and the opportunity to catch up on some of his own work. It’s not much- just a few emails that need to be sent out and the lesson plans for next week, and almost absentmindedly he puts on some music as background noise while his students talk among themselves about whatever it is that high school sophomores talk about. Before he knows it the bell is ringing, and there’s an immediate shuffle of people packing their things and making a beeline for the door.

“See you guys tomorrow! Don’t forget to start making sure you have your materials by the end of the week!” he calls out. He gets an absent minded chorus of “We will!” in response as the students leave, and Dan shakes his head with a small smile. Just as the last of the students are out the door, another figure slips inside, knocking at the frame.

“Hey there, anyone home?” Dan looks up from his laptop, startled. He relaxes upon seeing that his “good friend” Mr. Hanson has decided to come back over, and he lowers his music a bit.

“Nah, just me again. Are you planning on blessing me with a visit for every period today?” he teases, and Mr. Hanson laughs as he makes his way inside and perches himself on the corner of Dan’s desk.

“I have my own classes to teach, so I unfortunately cannot. I don’t have my first class until next period, though, so I thought I’d crash here until then. Watcha working on?”

“Just catching up on some emails and finishing up next week’s lesson plan, but I suppose I can take a break so I can give my best friend my full, undivided attention.” Dan closes his laptop and scoots back so he can stretch his legs underneath his desk with a groan. Mr. Hanson lets out a soft gasp and puts a hand to his chest.

“I’m your best friend?”

“Of course you are, man. How long have we known each other, Arin?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. And you’re my best friend that I’m not married to,” Arin replies.

“Wow, thanks. Feelin’ real special right now.”

“No problem, man. It’s the least I could do. Hey, before I forget, Suze and I are going bowling this Saturday. Wanna come with?” Dan hums in thought for a moment, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms above his head.

“Sure, I’m game. We all fuckin’ suck at bowling though, so I can only imagine how much fun the games are going to turn out,” he says.

“What’s the point in being good at bowling if you’re not having fun?”

They spend the rest of the period chatting idly, and when the bell is ten minutes from ringing Arin lets out a large yawn as he hops from the desk and makes his way towards the door.

“See you at lunch, dude,” he calls out. Dan waves back as he pulls out another stack of the syllabus and sets it on his desk.

“See you later, Ar.”

_A pretty good start to today, if I do say so myself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is going to be another attempt at a longer fic. Whether or not I'll eventually finish it is in the air right now, so let's just ride the wave for as long as we can. (Hop on over to aciid--heart if you wanna hang out on Tumblr.)
> 
> Also sorry this chapter ended sort of abruptly hsdgfsd I couldn't really find a good place to stop but it's FINE we all gotta start Somewhere right


	2. Chapter 2

Dan's next two classes are pretty much the same as his first: handing out the syllabus, going through roll, letting the kids do their own thing until the bell rings for first lunch. He shrugs on his jacket as he makes to lock the classroom and nearly drops his keys when he feels a heavy arm sling around his shoulders.

“Ready for our hot and steamy Pad Thai date?” Arin asks with a grin. Dan laughs and bumps his head against Arin’s for a moment in greeting before adjusting his grip on his keys to lock the classroom door and properly pull up the sleeves of his jacket.

“More than ready,” he replies. “Be careful with calling it a date, though. One of the kids from my first period already asked if you were my boyfriend.”

“Did you tell them that you’re not even my type?” Dan elbows Arin in the side with an indignant huff.

“Of course I didn’t, jackass. Do you really think I would diss myself like that in front of my class on the first day?” Arin shrugs as he removes his arm from Dan’s shoulders, and they begin meandering down the halls among the wave of students making their way towards their next period and the cafeteria for lunch.

“I dunno. I already warned my third period that I’d be cursing like a fuckin’ sailor so they could cover their baby ears if they needed to,” he replies.

“Wow, you're so thoughtful. Truly a virtue of care and consideration towards your students. What are they, sophomores?”

“I know, right? It almost hurts to be this nice. And they're freshmen.” Dan rolls his eyes as they make their way to the parking lot.

“You couldn’t have eased them into your blasphemous vocabulary?”

“They’re freshmen, dude. If you call on one of them they look like they’re gonna bolt, so I figured being chill right from the get go would help them be a little less skittish.”

“Okay, I’ll give that to you. I remember being just as nervous when I was a freshman since high school is just so different from middle school.” They both settle into Arin’s car, and he takes a moment to start the ignition and check his mirrors.

“You see? I’m helping them adjust to the world of slightly bigger children.”

The drive to the nearby Pad Thai place is relatively quiet, save for the gentle hum of soft rock classics coming from Arin’s radio. When they’re pulling up and undoing their seat belts, Arin turns to Dan and nudges his arm.

“Hey, quick question.”

“Quick answer.”

“Ross and I were thinking of inviting some friends out for lunch next Friday,” Arin says. “Maybe for sushi or something, I’m not sure yet. You down to clown with the cool kids?”

“Sure, sounds like fun. What’s the roster looking like right now?” Arin tucks a loose strand of hair behind his ear as his face scrunches up in thought.

“Let’s see… it’d be us, Ross, Suzy, and probably Nate.”

“Nate like Holly’s friend the music teacher, right?” Dan feels a bit embarrassed at even having to ask.

“Yup, that’s the one. You do know that he works with us in the VAPA department, right?”

“What, really?”

“Yeah, man, he teaches piano and guitar. Have you really never met him before?” Arin opens the door to the restaurant and lets Dan in before him, and they shuffle into the waiting line. “He’s only been one of our co-workers for about a year now. No biggie.”

“I dunno, man! Holly never introduced us, so even though I most likely _have_ met him then I guess I didn’t make the connection.” Arin gives him an incredulous look.

“You know you could've just properly introduced yourself and asked? You don't have to limit your interactions with other teachers to program and 504 meetings, y'know.”

“I guess I never really thought to make the effort, y'know? I get along with the other teachers I talk to, and we do already have our friend group…” He trails off with a noncommittal noise, but before Arin can respond, they’re at the front of the waiting line, and a waiter is asking for their party size. They’re seated at a two person booth underneath a large window, giving them a clear view of the parking lot and adjacent street. The waiter asks about drinks as he gives them their menus, and once he clears off Arin’s attention is back to their conversation.

“You'll be able to talk to him more at lunch next week then,” he points out. “Since you're so eager to seek him out on your own free time and all.”

“I don’t even know what his schedule is like, and you know how busy things can get when I’m working with Creative Writing or making stuff with Brian. I guess neither of us thought to put in the effort to properly get to know each other.” Dan raises an eyebrow at Arin from over his menu. “You’re being oddly pushy about us not being friends.”

“Am I?” Arin doesn’t look up from his own menu as he scans the available options. “I guess I just wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to get along and have a good time at lunch next week. As long as you don’t actively dislike each other, then this would be a good opportunity to meet someone new.”

“We _just_ established that he and I have already met, Arin.”

“You know what I mean.”

“If I didn’t know any better, then I’d be wondering if you were trying to set me up with him.” This gets Arin to look up from his menu with a bewildered expression. Dan has to fight back the urge to laugh a bit.

“Why on Earth would I be trying to set you up with someone you barely know? Can you imagine how awkward that would be?” Dan _does_ laugh at this and shakes his head, setting his menu down and pausing to adjust the sleeves of his jacket.

“We’d spend maybe ten minutes talking about our classes and then panic once we realize that we’ve run out of things to say,” he grins. This gets Arin to laugh as well, and they’re both giggling like crazy when their waiter comes back with their drinks and asks if they’re ready to order.

“I don’t think you’re bad at talking to people, though,” Arin says once they’ve ordered their food. “You’re not really the type to get nervous when you’re chatting up a stranger.”

“Okay, so maybe we wouldn’t exactly run out of things to say,” Dan relents. “But I think going on dates with someone you’ve just met sort of makes it harder to get to know them in a more casual environment, you know? When you go on dates you’re expected to dress a little nicer than you normally would and present your best self so you look good to the other person.” Arin hums as he takes a sip from his drink.

“I dunno about that. Dates don’t necessarily have to be nice dinners and dressing up all the time,” he replies. “If you make the dates casual right from the start, then that sort of sets the tone for there not being as much pressure to try and make yourself look good or pretend to be something that you’re not.”

“Wouldn’t it be harder for you to sort of classify them as dates if they’re that casual, though?”

Arin yawns and leans back in his chair. “It doesn’t have to be. I’d be totally cool with being asked out on a date where we just snuggle for a few hours without having to do much else, y’know?”

“There definitely is some appeal to that,” Dan replies. “I’m always up for some sweet snugglage.”

“I could give you some sweet snugglage, you know.” Arin waggles his eyebrows with a flirtatious grin. “All you had to do was ask!”

Dan laughs and punches his arm from across the table, and before long the waiter is setting their food down and they’re digging into their meals.

“So how many kids do you think are gonna be interested in Creative Writing this year?” Arin asks once they’ve eaten in relative quiet for a few minutes. Dan hums in thought and pokes his fork into his food, watching idly as it slides across the plate.

“It’s hard to tell. The club fair isn’t for another two weeks or so, so I’ll have to wait until then to get the initial head count.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that it’s literally the first day of school,” Arin whistles. “How many kids do you need to keep the club around this year?”

“I think five? Or maybe more. It'll probably say it in the club policies or whatever.” Dan waves a dismissive hand as he takes a bite of his food. “A lot of kids tend to sign up for clubs and then never show up, so I'll have to keep an eye on the headcount once the first couple of meetings come around.”

“That makes sense. High schoolers are fickle creatures,” Arin intones.

“Fickle creatures indeed. Are you gonna finish your food now, or do you wanna get some to-go boxes?”

“We can take these to-go. Might as well start heading back so we don't risk being late.”

“Good call.”

On the ride back to the school, Dan opens up his calendar and sifts through the appointments and meetings he has scattered across the month before making a note for next Friday’s lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all how are you doing
> 
> When I put "Slow to Update" in the tags I REALLY meant that it would be SLOW to update so I apologize in advance for the time in between future updates 
> 
> Come chat with me on Tumblr at aciid--heart or aciidart!


	3. Chapter 3

Dan and Arin make their way back to the school a little fast mostly out of Arin's need to get ready for his sixth period; Dan's got another free period before the last class of the day, so he’s in no particular rush. When they pile back into Arin's car, he sets their to-go containers at his feet and makes sure that he doesn't accidentally crush them in trying to keep them steady.

“I already forgot that I invited you out to bowling on Saturday,” Arin comments as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Any time in particular that you'd prefer to go?” Dan hums in thought for a moment and absently drums his fingers against his thigh.

“No, I don't think so. Were you thinking something closer to lunchtime or dinnertime?”

“Maybe closer to the evening. We were thinking of trying to get one of those blacklight lanes, but they don’t change the lights for those until like six or something.”

“They have an arcade there too, right? We could just go early and wait for six to roll around.” They pause their conversation momentarily as Arin pulls up to the school and reclaims his parking spot. Once they're back on campus and walking through the main quad, Arin pulls out his phone to check the time.

“Yeah, but it's fuckin’ expensive. I miss the good old days where you only needed a quarter to play a game,” he sighs. 

“Sad times we're living in now,” Dan solemnly replies. “Did you wanna meet up before or after six, then?” 

“Probably before six. It gets busy on Saturdays, so the earlier the better.” Once they enter the Performing Arts building Arin claps a hand on Dan's shoulder and pulls him into a quick hug. “Alright, I gotta bounce. Don't wanna be late to my own class.”

“See you later, man.” Arin turns and gives a final wave before he’s heading down the hall, and Dan turns the opposite direction to idle back to his own classroom. He's not particularly in the mood for spending the free period alone, though, since he'd enjoyed his empty periods with Arin so far today. Unless…

He pulls his phone out and types out a quick text with one hand as he fishes for his keys.

_ Hey Scuze, you free this period? _

Dan gets a response once he’s back in his own classroom. 

_ Yeah, I'm not too busy for sixth. Did you wanna stop by? _

_ You know I do. I'll be over a few minutes after the next bell rings.  _ Dan takes a moment to tidy up the room a bit while he waits for the bell to ring; he doesn't have to do much besides throw away some crumpled up papers and straighten out some of the desks before the room is looking fairly clean again. When the bell rings he grabs his laptop bag and notebook before locking the classroom door behind him again and making his way over. 

“Knock knock,” Dan calls out as he peeks his head into the classroom, and he gets an exasperated sigh in response. “Is there a miss Suzy Berhow here, by chance?” 

“Hurry up and come in already, ya big doof,” Suzy laughs.

“Why thank you, my good lady!” Once the door shuts behind him, Dan plops his things down onto the desk that's closest to the front of the room and pulls his friend into a quick hug. “Your wonderful husband just treated me to some Pad Thai for lunch earlier.”

“Did he, now? What a gentleman,” Suzy chuckles. “Give me all the juicy details. Did you hold hands and play footsies under the table?” 

“Oh, you know it. That Pad Thai wasn't the only thing that was steamy during that meal.” Dan perches himself on the edge of the desk that's next to where he put his things as he waggles his eyebrows. “He also invited me to join you guys for bowling this Saturday, by the way.” 

“Great! It’ll be fun to have all three of us hanging out during the weekend. That way we won't have to worry about waking up early for school the next day.”

“Yeah, I'd rather not go on a night time bowling rave and try to drag myself out of bed at seven the morning after.” Suzy straightens out some papers on her desk before clicking at something on her computer. Some quiet music begins to float from the speakers as she flips her long hair over one shoulder. 

“So how's your first day treating you so far?” she asks. Dan shrugs and leans over to grab his laptop bag as he twists to sit properly in the desk.

“It's going fine. Nothing too exciting, really. My classes have been pretty well behaved so far. What about you?”

“Same with me, thank god. Turns out having art classes in the morning means that none of the students are awake enough to cause any kind of fuss,” Suzy replies. “Anything exciting for your last period?” 

“Yeah! I have my Vocal Ensemble class at the end of the day this year, so I'm looking forward to that. We should have a pretty sizable men's section too, so that's even more exciting.” 

“That's great! You better let Arin and I know when your guys's first concert comes around so we can go see it!” Dan laughs and shakes his head.

“I'll let you know as soon as I get the date set in stone,” he promises. “That reminds me though. Would you mind helping out with uniforms this year? I had a lot of trouble finding some good quality manufacturers on my own, and I wanna make sure we look nice for our performances.” 

“Of course, I’m more than happy to help you with that,” Suzy waves a dismissive hand as she skips the song that had started playing. “It wouldn't do to spend a lot of money on uniforms that are cheap quality.” 

“That's exactly what I was thinking.” He pulls out his laptop from his bag and flips it open, whistling along to the song that's playing. They spend the rest of the period in relative silence, mainly appreciative of the company as they both work. 

“Oh yeah, before I forget,” Dan suddenly says as he moves to begin packing his things, “Arin also invited me out to lunch with you guys and Ross and, uh… Nate next Friday.” Suzy raises a sharply sculpted eyebrow at him.

“That was a weird pause you did there,” she observes. “Did you forget Nate's name or do you not like him or something?”

“No, it's nothing like that!” Dan is quick to assure. “I just don't know him very well, is all. We have all these mutual friends but I've probably only talked to him at work in like a 504 meeting or something.” 

“I think it'll be nice for you to get to know him, then. You guys have a few things in common, so you'll probably get along just fine.” Suzy waves a dismissive hand as she grabs some papers from her desk and stands up. “You'd better get to the choir room before the bell rings. You don't wanna be late for your last period.” 

“Right you are. Thanks for the company, Scuze. See you on Saturday?”

“See you on Saturday!” 

\--/--/--

Dan practically skips down the hall on his way to the choir room, unable to stop smiling. He'd been looking forward to this class since he got his schedule for the year, eager to get to what will hopefully be one of his best groups yet. Add that onto the fact that Suzy will be helping out with uniforms this year only adds to his excitement, and he's whistling by the time he pulls out his keys and unlocks the choir room. 

When he enters and starts making his way toward the room's office, he notices a figure already inside, the door held open with a stopper. The figure looks up with a bewildered expression at the sound of the main door swinging shut. 

“Hey, you're not really supposed to be in here right now,” Dan frowns. The guy looks too young to be anything but a student, and he's holding a stack of papers in his hands. It takes him a moment to fall out of his stupor, and when he does he shuffles in place and hugs the papers to his chest.

“Sorry! I was just grabbing something for Mr. Sharp really quick before class starts. He forgot some stuff in here this morning during Guitar,” the kid says. “I was just about to start heading back.” Dan raises an eyebrow and tries to give him a stern look, but the kid looks a little too nervous to be lying, so he lets it go.

“Alright, I'm going to take your word for it this time. I'd rather run into students doing their teachers a favor instead of catching them trying to steal something from their office.” Dan wags a finger at him. “Next time someone has to come in here, though, try to have him write a pass or something so it doesn't look like you're skipping class to do something you shouldn't be doing.” 

“Alright, I'll, uh, be sure to pass along the message.” 

“Tell Mr. Sharp I said hi too, by the way.” 

“Okay, thanks!"

“No problem!” Dan calls out as the kid leaves the room. Once the door shuts behind him, he sets about to writing his name and the subject on the chalkboard in the room (why the choir room has a chalkboard instead of a whiteboard, he'll never know), and small groups of students start to trickle in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO there how are you guys doing toNIGHT!
> 
> Here I am with another chapter! I hope y'all are having a chill time with it so far! Come and say hi on Tumblr at aciid--heart if you wanna chat!


End file.
